“This is something the Wollondilly Tourism Association had been lobbying for for a couple of years,” he said.

“When we joined forces with the council things really got rolling along.

“Instead of being lumped in with Sydney, we’re now grouped with the likes of Wingecarribee shire, Wollongong and parts of the Southern Highlands and the south coast.”

Cr Briggs said being classified as Destination Sydney Surrounds South allowed shire businesses to apply for grants that were previously unavailable.

“There is dedicated funding for regional tourism which will allow local business products to apply for grants where when we were part of Destination Sydney we would not have had access to a cent,” he said.

“The government wants to double regional tourism in the next few years.

“In a practical sense, this classification will allow us to be better able to achieve this.

“Any start-up or business that can demonstrate they’ve got a product or service that can contribute to tourism can apply for a grant and get seed money to help them get off the ground.”